Imagine waking up tomorrow in a world that doesn’t depend on oil.
That might seem far-fetched, but as engineers and scientists come up with new ways to harness renewable energy, those new sources of energy may soon shape the way our societies function and how we live our daily lives.
“We’re going to stop depending on oil long before we run out of it, so we really need to exercise our imaginations about what other futures are possible," explains University of Alberta associate professor Sheena Wilson, who heads the Future Energy Systems energy humanities theme.
”Right now we live in sprawling urban communities with long commutes—we drive everywhere. If we don't have access to such powerful energy sources, and our lives aren't organized around auto-mobility, the shape of our cities looks very different. We need to think about communities we're shaping through the energy systems we're designing.”
Continue reading at University of Alberta.
Image via University of Alberta.